Text messages, more commonly referred to as Short Message Service (SMS) messages, are known in the art of telecommunications. While generally useful for their purpose, it can at times be difficult for a user to create and manage SMS messages with their mobile station (MS), e.g., a wireless mobile telephone or other end user equipment.
An MS, such as a wireless mobile telephone, is typically equipped with a display (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), a 12 button numeric keypad, and a limited number of soft and/or hard buttons. Often, a full alphabetic keyboard is not included. Accordingly, the 12 button numeric keypad is commonly used to type and/or enter text when creating an SMS message. For example, a plurality of alphabetic and/or other characters may be assigned to a single key in the keypad, and the number of times the key is pressed determines which one of the assigned characters is entered or typed.
In any event, employing a limited keypad for inputting a full set of typographical characters can be very cumbersome and time consuming, e.g., with multiple keystrokes having to be entered to type a single character. The problem is further exacerbated as the SMS message increases in size. It would be advantageous therefore to have alternate means for creating and/or managing SMS messages with an MS.
Accordingly, a new and improved SMS messaging feature is disclosed that overcomes the above-referenced problems and others.